Quantitative research methods in educational science, 5 Credits

Kvantitativa metoder i utbildningsvetenskaplig forskning, 5 hp

Course period: 2020 09 01 - 2021 01 18

Ansvarig institution: Institutionen för pedagogik och specialpedagogik, IPS/ Department of Education and Special Education.

 

Dear phd students,

The autumn semester starts formally at September 1st, and so does this course with respect to reading of course literature and other preparations.  At our first meeting we will present ourselves and walk through course practicalities.  Due to the corona pandemic, this meeting will take place online between 09.00 and 12.00, and you will receive an invite to joion at zoom.

• At our meeting you will give a short presentation  of yourself (in english), your research questions/interests, earlier experiences with quantitative research methods and expectations of the course.
• It is strongly recommended that you check the correctness of your email adress and other contact details on Canvas and please upload a photo of yourself.  To do this, click on Account in the upper left corner and choose ‘profile’ and make the necessary changes. Your photo can be uploaded by clicking on the photo frame.
• It is highly recommended that you start working with the course literature as soon as possible.
• The schedule for the course can be found here

Content

In the course we will discuss what quantitative methods are and how they can be used in educational science research. The course is grounded in traditional social science research with extensions from the development of measurement theory. The ways problem and knowledge claims are linked to issues of observation/measurement, design and analysis will be discussed. Of central importance is the understanding of the concepts’ validity, reliability and generalizability i.e. the essential quality criteria in all research and which need to be considered in all phases of the research process. Ethical considerations are an integrated part of all empirical research. The course will emphasize methods and actions that can / should be made to ensure validity in the analysis and the conclusions.

Through the course, participants should strive to acquire an overview and a conceptual understanding of basic quantitative research methods as well as of more advanced quantitative methods that are at the frontier of the education science research tradition. The focus should be on the internal logic of quantitative methods in relation to educational and social science research issues, and on key scientific concepts and quantitative terms.

The course set-up is based on a central idea that research methodology need to be processed and conquered both orally and in writing, individually and in groups on several occasions to provide the best possible benefit.

Students are expected to (1) complete reading assignments prior to class attendance, (2) participate actively in class discussions, (3) complete all assignments. Click here to download reading list and the couse syllabus.

Lectures and seminars

At every meeting we will focus on  central constructs, aspects of research methods, and quantitative methods from the course literature and our own experiences. There is also a goal that we should have a good discussion in a seminar format, where we can both clarify technical terms and discuss questions which we have prepared. We cannot address every aspect, therefore collaboration and cooperation with other course participants is of upmost importance.

You will find a list of lectures and reading assignments here: Lectures and readings ht-20.pdf

Visiting researchers

At every seminar we will be visited by a guest lecture from a researcher using quantitative methods in their work. They will present themselves, their work and the study from which the article you have read .

• You are expected to read the articles in advance and prepare methodological questions.
• Your task will be to pose both critical and claryfying questions with particular focus on validity threats.
• Afterwards, you should be able to describe the methodology and measures taken to ensure the validity of the article's conclusions.

After each guest presentation, the students will have a short post-seminar where the task is to give a summary of the research question, design, method, results and conclusions of the article, and then discuss its validity. Each group will upload a short summary of their discussion on Canvas.

In between student seminars

Between each lecture/seminar you will discuss the course literature in smaller groups in seminar form. In these student-led sessions, participants should revisit their questions and reflective points from the earlier seminar and discuss assigned literature. Central/critical points and issues should be distributed to group members in advance. Participants should take turns in leading the discussions, and in writing notes. Follow up on these notes will occur at the following seminar.

 

I look forward to good cooperation in an intensive course!

                      Monica Rosén  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kontakt/Contact

Kursansvarig lärare: Monica Rosén, monica.rosen@ped.gu.se

• Institutionen för pedagogik och specialpedagogik

Kursadministratör: Viktoria Öberg  viktoria.oberg@gu.se

 

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